Pulling streamed video from temp. internet files

Will this work for any streamed video or audio or any file period for that matter? Why or why not? Sometimes I can find streamed video in temp internet files and save it to my computer without problem, and sometimes I can't. I'm not familiar enough with the processes involved to know why the behavior is different with different websites, players, formats and file types.

If someone has an example of a situation where it would work, and then an example of a situation where it wouldn't, that would be grand.

 

I think it depends on the type of video... like if it's a video from YouTube or something similar, then the video is actually downloaded to the browser's cache and is stored there. But other videos are not downloaded in their entirety to the cache. They are truly 'streamed' to your PC. This is done for a number of different reasons, including copyright laws (cached videos are much easier to permanently save and/or distribute) and speed and fluidity of video playback (cached videos will always play back better, esp. after the first time where streamed videos depend entirely on the connection speed). As to trying to save stuff... if using FireFox, download and install Download Helper. It's an add-on for Firefox that gives the user the ability to save just about anything you come across. If the DH icon is animated and spinning, it signifies that there are items on that particular page that can be permanently downloaded and saved to your PC. You can get more info here: http://www.downloadhelper.net/ If you don't use Firefox, this is a good reason to think about switching! Or take a look at the Miscellaneous section here at Major Geeks; there are several "youTube downloaders" available. I also remember seeing a program listed here at MG a while back that would directly extract files/videos from the internet cache and allow you to view and save them, but I can't remember what it's called....